30 VETEEINAEY TOXICOLOGY 



very delicate tests are available along with simple and 

 quantitative methods of separation. It is, therefore, desir- 

 able to reserve contents, carefully selected, sealed, and 

 labelled, or with a small animal the entire organs. A 

 piece of stomach wall, carefully washed with water, is 

 not a promising material. 



3. Besides contents, portions of liver, kidney, blood and 

 urine ought to be taken and separately sealed. To take a 

 case in point. Arsenic is foupd in contents. The liver and 

 kidney are then tested with positive results, thus giving 

 satisfactory evidence of the giving of arsenic and its absorp- 

 tion. Or, if strychnine or an alkaloid is found in a stomach, 

 and the other organs or urine can be shown to give evidence, 

 in itself not conclusive so far as a clear chemical reaction 

 is concerned, a satisfactory proof is afforded. 



4. It is undesirable to add any preservative, such as 

 carbolic acid, alcohol, glycerine, formalin, or the like. 

 Practically all the ordinary poisons are stable, many quite 

 permanent, for a sufficient length of time, and advanced 

 decomposition does not affect the processes of extraction. 



5. The proper sealing, labelling, witnessing, and transit 

 of parts is expedient, as otherwise in contentious cases a 

 large and expensive host of witnesses through whose hands 

 the package has passed may be required in court. 



6. If autopsy is not deemed necessary, the despatch of the 

 uncut body or unopened stomach is most satisfactory. 



